


I. (i never watch the stars; there's so much down here)

by cassandralied



Series: Jaytemis Week [1]
Category: DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, F/M, Future Fic, maybe? - Freeform, possible ambiguous character death but he'll be fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25541758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassandralied/pseuds/cassandralied
Summary: for Jaytemis Week Day 1: Batman!Jason and Wonder Woman!Artemis...“I’m Batman.”“No you’re not,” Artemis replies instinctively. “Batman’s an asshole."
Relationships: Artemis of Bana-Mighdall/Jason Todd
Series: Jaytemis Week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850824
Comments: 7
Kudos: 36





	I. (i never watch the stars; there's so much down here)

“So you’re the new Wonder Woman,” is what she’s greeted with when she lands. The Lasso of Truth still feels shiny and oversized around her hips, and she knows she doesn’t make the pretty picture that Diana did, all shiny blue eyes and tousled hair.

But Artemis swallows back her insecurity, raises a hand to brush back her hair, forgetting that the Wonder Woman tiara is holding it back for her. “That’s me.”

“Hi.” The Batman actually steps forward, and there’s a hint of a smile beneath the cowl. Definitely not the Batman that Diana had prepared her to meet. “I’m Batman.”

“No you’re not,” Artemis replies instinctively. “Batman’s an asshole. Diana told me.”  
This makes not-maybe-Batman laugh. “Oh, I’m the new Batman. Less of an asshole, and look. Guns.”  
He does have guns. They’re red and strapped to his thighs.“Exciting,” Artemis deadpans, because weapons of man rarely impress her, and she means it in every sense of the word.  
And then the new Flash is talking, and Artemis forgets about the new, weird friendly Batman for a bit.

…

“I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to see the Batcave, ever,” Artemis stresses as she walks in. The new Batman laughs again (he has a nice laugh, not that she’s really noticing).

“Well, now that I’ve shown you, I’ll have to kill you.”

She’s pretty sure he’s joking, but either way, the idea is funny to her. “You can try.”

“Nah. I like you too much.”   
Artemis rolls her eyes. In her peripheral vision, she sees a Robin costume in a pane of glass, like a memorial. JASON TODD, it’s labeled, and she wants to ask if that’s what happens to people who find the Batcave, but she holds her tongue, thank Hera.

…

She shouldn’t be doing this. She’s a mistake. She shouldn’t be Wonder Woman. How the hell is she meant to continue Diana’s legacy?

“You okay?”  
Artemis whirls, ready for a fight, but it’s just Batman. (she doesn’t know when she stopped thinking of him as the new one.) Even with the mask, he’s so expressive, stepping back.

“Do you, uh, want to be alone?”  
Artemis does want to be alone, even if it’s so that she can keep staring at the bust of Diana, watching her with those solemnly judging eyes. Not good enough. But.

She sighs, rolls her shoulders. “No. It’s okay.”  
She hesitates. “Spar with me?”  
Batman smiles. “That’s something I can do.”

He’s tricky, and she’s a little out of practice, but she still has him pinned to the mat in about seven minutes.  
“What color are your eyes?” Artemis asks, because she has no self-control, and because they’re very close, and because sparring is always an aphrodisiac.  
Batman’s mouth goes very, very still and then he says, “Brown.”  
They stand on a precipice, then, with their mouths so close, with Artemis’s body pressed up against the too-thin material of the Batsuit.

And then she stands suddenly, her back to him, untying her hair. “Thanks for the fight.”  
“Yeah. No problem.” Batman sounds a little winded in a not-entirely-physical-way, and that satisfies her.

…

“No. No. Sekhmet, no.”  
But there’s no way she can’t recognize the crumpled, beaten form of her ally. There’s so much blood, more blood than should ever be in a body but definitely more blood than should be out of it.  
Artemis is kneeling by his side in an instant, lifting his head into her lap. The mask is torn and tattered. Your eyes are brown, she doesn’t say.  
“Artemis?” he slurs, or something like it.“Yeah, it’s me. Who did this to you?”  
“Joker…fucking bastard. Once wasn’t enough, I guess.”  
Artemis suddenly remembers the stories Diana had told her about the Robin beaten to death by the Joker, puts it together. “You’re Jason Todd.”  
He smiles a little. “Surprise?”

“Batman’s second robin.”

“Yeah.”  
Artemis’s fingers try to find a wound, but it might be easier to find a single part of the body that isn’t wounded. There’s so much blood, and Artemis has seen warriors fall in battle before. She knows what it looks like. There’s no point wailing over it.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jason,” she says instead, voice thick with emotion.  
He smiles. “You too, Artemis. You’re probably the coolest Wonder Woman I’ve ever met.”  
She kisses him, and she doesn’t know if it’s because she believes him or because she wants to quiet his lies.

…


End file.
